YOU would have been hard pressed to find a happier driver at the Townsville 500 than Zane Morse.
Before last weekend, the 24-year-old privateer had never recorded a round finish better than seventh, nor a top five race finish.
That all changed drastically in north Queensland, as Morse took fifth in Race 1 and third in Race 2 to grab a round podium.
It’s a far cry from running way outside the top 10 in the Newcastle season-opener back in March.
“I’m happy as I can be,” beamed Morse, who is in his fourth Super2 season.
“I’ve always wanted to be up here for a few years now. I’ve been quick all weekend so I’m really happy that we kept the consistency up.
“I was just hoping I could catch up to the other boys at the very end there and hopefully make it a three-way battle but just got a Safety Car at the end, what can we do?”
Indeed, Morse had been eyeing even more when Kai Allen and Zak Best were duking it out for the Race 2 lead, helping the #11 Mustang driver make ground before a Safety Car neutralised his late-race charge.
“I saw them pushing each other quite hard, especially when I saw them lock a couple of fronts here and there, I thought ‘come on’,” he said.
“I was just pushing on, catching, catching and unfortunately I made a few mistakes which cost me.
“I had a real rough start of the year, I’m here to push through and see how I go for the rest of it.”
Morse made a key off-season switch, hopping into the Gen2 Ford previously raced by Cam Waters. He’d previously raced a 2013-built VF Commodore.
So, what now?
“I’d like to move further up in the (leaderboard). I’ve always been around 10th in the points, I’d like to get a lot closer – especially in the races I’d like to be on the podium a lot more consistently,” he said.
“At the start of the year we definitely had a rough round at Newcastle. We had good pace at Perth, I just didn’t qualify it.
“Now that I can qualify and race through and show the results, I just want to keep pushing through and try to stay up this top side of the field.”
Morse now holds eighth in the standings, on equal points with seventh-placed Aaron Love.
